“…but are you certain?”

“When have I ever lied to you, your Majesty?” A pause. “Oh, don’t you give me that look. Curving the truth into a shape much like a lie is more of my forte, but false truths hardly ever come out of me. Yes, I am fairly certain.”

“Fairly?”

“Does ‘remarkably’ work better for your royal ears?”

The last remark went ignored. “So…a Bandersnatch.”

“Ah, the one and only Bandersnatch. I would remember there being more than one.” The velvety voice sighed. “Now I wish I hadn’t let her roam free after that nasty incident with the sisters…they’re witches, they can just grow their limbs back…”

“Tell me, Yi Xiang. Do you remember the important bit where you swore to your king that you were not involved in this matter, in any way whatsoever? I am not falsely recalling this, correct? Makes your declaration about lying rather embarrassing, doesn’t it?”

“Save your accusations for a Boogeyman who would quake before you, sire. For the last hour I have said it over and over—I did not make my darling Bandersnatch venomous. She has been tampered with, and as I did not make her genetic code known to anyone, that bothers me. They’ve imbibed her bite with something rather powerful, enough to do this damage to an immortal being. Instead of pointing your damn fingers, you should—oh, look. Thy sweet prince awakens.”

Changmin’s eyes began to flutter; they felt like lead. He knew this bedroom very well, unfortunately. Everything from the expensive black sheets to the wrought iron vines that twisted into a beautiful lattice above his head, to the candelabra in each corner of the room, was all too familiar. He knew the insignia on a goblet by his bedside, having seen it splashed over much of everything in the Nightmare Manor.

He wanted to knock himself in the head for finding that comforting.

“Why are you two bickering like a pair of old married folk?” Changmin groaned. When he made to sit up, a hand pushed him back onto the bed. “Look, I can still move without anyone’s help.”

“Prince, I am sure that you can, but whether you should is the question I really don’t feel up to answering.” A fleeting grin passed over Yunho’s face. “Next time you get attacked, do so in a more populated area, please. By the time we reached you…” He trailed off, the corners of his mouth turning down for just a second before his smile returned. “At any rate, we have identified your attacker. She may be connected to the Holiday Doors, as she was around the Hinterlands long enough to detect and see you as a threat.”

A derisive laugh drew Changmin’s attention; leaning against one of the bed posts was the damned Boogeyman he had hoped to never cross paths with. He was as handsome as the girls in the workshop had whispered, but something was very wrong with him—he just couldn’t put his finger on it. What isn’t wrong with him, Changmin? The stories the elves told me…were they true? And then he internally scolded himself—why should he care? Yunho’s relationships were none of his business anymore.  “Is my injury that amusing?” Changmin asked dryly.

“Yes,” Yi Xiang replied, flashing his teeth. “Only the Winter Prince would suffer a bite from one of my experiments gone wrong.”

Yunho’s hand tightened on his shoulder as Changmin lunged forward, outraged. “What do you mean, one of your experiments?!” Instantly, he regretted the sudden movement; a hard throb in his hip unleashed cold waves of pain to his legs.

The Boogeyman shook his head, still with that Cheshire grin. “Before your highness graced us with your conscious state, the king and I discussed this, so please halt any blame you want to fling my way. Yes, the Bandersnatch—what bit you, dolt; dispense with the looks—is something I created, but I assure you I did not plan for her to have a venomous bite. In fact, I am worried about the other citizens if it can deliver such damage to a realm ruler.”

“The quiet pride in your voice? I could do without that.”

Yunho frowned at Yi Xiang. “You say you didn’t let anyone else know of how you created her?”

“Would you let people in on something you had invented all by yourself?” Yi Xiang drawled, pushing off the post. “As Mr. Grinch over here pointed out, I’m quite proud that someone dared to take her and tamper with her genetics.” His dark eyes bore into Yunho’s. “Your Majesty, he is conscious. The investigation can continue.”

Before Yunho could reply, he was interrupted by Changmin, who groaned and held his head tenderly. “It talked…”

That made Yi Xiang’s eyebrows fly upward and his lips press together. Yunho leaned forward onto the bed, frowning heavier. “What do you mean by that? The Bandersnatch…spoke?”

“I’m not sure. Now that you tell me I was injected with venom, I could have been hallucinating. But before everything went black, I swear it said…” He searched his memory, wincing when it triggered a headache. “Something like…oh, what was it? It called me princeling, and it said…” But at that moment, the most painful sensation hit his ribs, and he fell back onto the pillows, cursing.

“Sandy Claws uttered a swear word,” Yi Xiang gasped, mockingly clutching his chest. “Something else I need to scratch off my bucket list!”

Fury rippled through Changmin. “Call me that again and see what happens,” he dared in a low voice, glaring at the Boogeyman.

“Enough.” Yunho gently lifted the comforter farther up Changmin’s body, earning him a puzzled stare. “It’s about time you’re back in my bed, prince,” he joked, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I believe the good doctor will have something for the pain. Can’t imagine how high the dose will have to be for you, but I may as well look into it.” A swift nod went to the smoking goblet beside the bed. “Sip that. While it does nothing for the pain, it will knock you out for some time. Easier to bear the pain.”

“Double morphine,” Changmin groaned, trying to get comfortable again as he reached for the cup. “And some liquor if no morphine.” He kept a deaf ear to Yi Xiang’s sniggering at the request and addressed Yunho again. “You may as well see if Dr. Finkelstein knows anyone who has enough reason to set a damn Bandersnatch on me.”

“Thinking like a true sleuth.” Yunho rose to his feet, taking his coat off the back of the chair pulled up to the bed and slipping his arms through it. He briefly glanced at Yi Xiang. “I know it’s not in your nature to leave well enough alone, but do try. No arguments. No fighting. I would prefer my bedroom intact when I return.”

“With how the prince looks in those jeans, I can’t make any promises about everything staying intact.”

“Try,” Yunho emphasized, his eyes burning into Yi Xiang’s. Changmin’s lips parted in surprise, and when they both turned, he hastily drank the contents of the goblet. Is he that concerned for me? The thought did not remain with him long. A heavy drowsiness consumed him and he felt his eyes flutter again.

“Of course, sire,” Yi Xiang replied as he raised a lazy salute to his king.

The king left the room as Changmin fell back into a slumber on the bed, mouth agape as the sleeping draught worked its magic.

Letters marked with a black wax seal came one by one at first; then in by the dozen, shoved into the hands of his poor workers as they made their way down Snowflake Hill to the workshop in the square; and finally, he received a great crate weighing one hundred pounds, with an impossible number inside. They had to have been conjured by magic, but still…it was all so very frustrating. The man did not understand what a break up was, that was simply it. That’s what it had to be. Changmin pinched the bridge of his nose and leaned forward onto his desk. He had not slept a full night in so long.

He missed the king. Dearly.

But things…were how they should be.

“I could never run away with you,” he whispered to the polished glass surface that reflected a distorted image of his own face. “That’s not possible.”

For seven weeks, he ignored the boxes of letters. He did not destroy them, but he would not have them in his workshop—what he considered a sanctuary. The elves moved them to the storage stables where retired sleighs sat gathering dust. They began to pile rather quickly—but still he could not find it in his heart to get rid of them.

They eventually stopped coming.